I Am Not The Duke's Evil Son
Chapter 75: Fortress

Chapter 75: Fortress

When Arthur returned to the smithy, he found Selene collapsed on the ground, her body drenched in sweat and her breathing labored clearly exhausted.

But when she saw him, she forced herself to stand and tried to greet him respectfully or at least tried.

"Gree...tings, my lord..."

Arthur sighed silently and gestured calmly,

"It’s fine. Rest."

Upon hearing his words, she sat down and began catching her breath. She had exhausted all the mana in her body over the past several hours. Unlike her, Varek was in decent shape his task had only been to remove the impurities that collected at the top of the molten sand mixture.

Without giving them any further attention, Arthur swiftly made his way to the furnace and peered inside. The flames were still blazing, and scorching heat blew into his face. He ignored the discomfort and continued staring at the ceramic pot full of molten glass with a satisfied smile.

’The result is better than I expected. Magic truly is amazing. Without it, I would’ve struggled immensely to make glass using the techniques available here.’

Suppressing his excitement, he put on a serious expression. He set the molds he had prepared beside the furnace, picked up a metal tong, and with great care, pulled the ceramic pot out of the furnace and poured its contents into the molds.

Varek took a step back, while Selene held her breath. Seeing how cautious he was, they realized that even the slightest disturbance might ruin his mood, or worse, ruin what he was doing. Still, they watched with intense curiosity, as they still didn’t understand exactly what they were helping to create.

’Good.’

After Arthur emptied the entire pot into five molds—some large, some small—he let out a breath of relief, and his body relaxed.

He went to set the pot aside but noticed a small clump of molten glass still stuck at the bottom.

After a brief moment of thought, he picked up a metal blowpipe he had prepared alongside the rest of the tools. Slowly, he scooped up the remaining glass and awkwardly began blowing into the pipe, attempting to shape something from the leftover glass.

Selene looked confused, and Varek seemed equally puzzled—they didn’t understand what he was doing. But when they saw the molten glass begin to inflate and form a strange, semi-transparent shape, their eyes widened, and they instinctively moved closer to get a better view.

’This is hard...’

Arthur’s brow furrowed in frustration. The molten mass wasn’t reacting the way he wanted. He adjusted his grip and reduced the strength of his breath.

’How do people even do this? Tsk... I guess this is a failed experiment. But whatever.’

With a sigh of disappointment, he picked up a small tong and started twisting and shaping the glass, trying to give it some kind of decent form. In the end, he ended up with something resembling a bottle, with a bent neck and a nearly rounded base.

Disheartened, he set the odd bottle aside and took a deep breath but suddenly noticed something. He turned around and saw Selene and Varek staring at the bottle in awe. With a smirk, he asked mockingly,

"Did you like it?"

Varek awkwardly stepped back and nodded, confirming it. Selene, more accustomed to Arthur and thus bolder, responded enthusiastically,

"Yes! It’s amazing, my lord! Is this the glass you told us about that day? Can I have that thing?"

Arthur smiled faintly and replied,

"You can take it, but I don’t recommend touching it now. Wait a few hours for it to cool down. Also, tell one of the soldiers to guard the area so no one touches the molds."

"Yes, my lord," Selene replied happily, while Varek seemed a bit disappointed. He tried to hide it, but Arthur noticed and consoled him kindly,

"Don’t worry. We’ll make more. If you both work hard and do well, I’ll gift you some properly crafted glassware."

His words encouraged Varek and made Selene even more eager. Seeing this, Arthur nodded in satisfaction.

’Good. Their morale needs to stay high so they’ll work at their best. If I can expand glass production and sell it, I’ll make a fortune. But that’ll require more mages... Hmm, I’ll think about it later. For now, there are more important things to focus on.’

After spending a few more minutes in the smithy, he headed back to the castle. Unlike usual, he didn’t find Octavia waiting for him—she had been too busy executing his orders to have time to remain by his side.

...

After eating dinner, he went to his room and sat at his simple desk. After a brief moment of thought, he took out a semi-detailed map of the barony and began examining it closely. Eventually, he placed his finger on a location far from the forest, near the borders of a neighboring barony.

"This place looks suitable for building a shelter for the weaker residents. I can’t have the elderly and children involved in the goblin war—it’s better to keep them away from the battle zone."

Having made up his mind, he picked up a sheet of paper and began sketching a design for a very large fortress, filled with simple defensive measures like ditches, wooden stakes, and waterways he would fill with flammable materials.

When he finished the blueprint, he looked at it and sighed,

"Building this fortress will require a huge number of men, and a lot of wood, stone, and mortar."

"But it’s fine... all for my people."

He suddenly paused and smirked sarcastically,

"Saying it like that makes me sound like a good ruler. I’m just a fraud. Since when did I start thinking of myself as their true lord? What a ridiculous situation..."

But despite thinking that way, he was coming to accept his position and in truth, even enjoy it. Without bothering himself further, he set everything aside and went to bed.

...

The following morning, after finishing his usual tasks, he picked up the fortress blueprints and headed to the main hall. There, Chadwick, Orin, and the treasurer awaited him. To his surprise, Octavia was also present.

He proudly sat on his throne and gave her a questioning look. Before he could speak, she said,

"Apologies for intruding without permission, my lord, but I finished my work earlier than expected, so I came to accompany you as usual."

He nodded in understanding and didn’t dwell on it. Calmly, he pulled out the barony map and the fortress designs and told her,

"Give these to them."

"Yes, my lord."

Octavia took the stack of papers and handed them to Chadwick, who examined them with a puzzled look—along with the others.

Then Arthur spoke in a firm voice,

"Look at the map. In the upper area, you’ll see a square drawing. That’s where I want the fortress built, based on the design I gave you. Are my instructions clear?"

Everyone showed different expressions especially Chadwick, who was stunned and froze for a moment before responding,

"Yes, my lord. Everything is clear."

Then, hesitantly, he asked,

"May I ask a question, my lord?"

Noticing his odd behavior, Arthur replied indifferently,

"Go ahead."

"What’s the purpose of this fortress, my lord? And why did you choose that location specifically?"

Arthur was mildly surprised—he hadn’t expected Chadwick to ask that. After a brief pause, he answered,

"Just a precaution. No one knows what might happen in the future. As you know, the castle alone isn’t enough to protect the entire barony if things go south."

Upon hearing this, the treasurer praised,

"How wise and compassionate you are toward your people, my lord."

As for Orin, he remained silent, observing everything. First of all, he didn’t know why he was even there. Arthur always gave him the worst, most disgusting tasks, so he felt a bit uneasy and sighed internally.

’This bastard... What disgusting job is he going to give me this time?’

Chadwick nodded in understanding, but the discomfort on his face didn’t fade. Still, he replied respectfully,

"Thank you for answering my question, my lord."

’Why is he acting so strange?’

Arthur was annoyed by Chadwick’s behavior and asked coldly,

"What’s on your mind? Speak."

Chadwick sighed and, without showing concern, answered,

"It’s nothing, my lord. I’m just a little bothered because... my home is located in the area where the fortress will be built."

"I didn’t know that," Arthur replied indifferently. After thinking for a moment, he recalled that most powerful figures in the barony owned private land and didn’t keep their families in the castle. A small smirk appeared on his face, sending a chill down everyone’s spines.

Casually, he said,

"That’s perfect. We can demolish your house and use the debris to help build the fortress. Also, you have some slaves, don’t you? Put them to work on the construction. As for additional builders and laborers, you may take 300 recruits to help."

Chadwick froze, his eyes wide. He stared at Arthur in disbelief. He had thought confessing his concern would make his lord reconsider the location but the result was the exact opposite. He wanted to say something, but when he saw Arthur’s wicked expression, he gave up and silently complained,

’What am I supposed to tell my wife now... And where will we live?’

Arthur laughed internally at Chadwick’s despairing look and mocked him in his thoughts,

’He clearly didn’t expect that. But in any case, everything will change in the future. He’ll get a better house eventually.’

After enjoying the scene for a brief moment, Arthur grew serious again and looked at the others.

"As for you, Orin I want you to oversee the construction and the laborers. Provide their needs: food, tools, temporary toilets... I don’t need to explain everything. You know what to do."

Orin was stunned he hadn’t expected to be given an important role this time. With a doubtful expression, he replied politely,

"Yes, my lord. I won’t disappoint you."

Arthur nodded.

"Good. And you treasurer—I want you to supply them with what they need: tools, provisions, and money. Listen carefully try to cut costs as much as possible."

The treasurer, pale from worry, replied,

"Yes, my lord. I’ll do my best."

He knew the treasury was nearly empty, and a project of this scale would drain their reserves but he couldn’t say that aloud now, so he merely sighed.

After a short discussion, Arthur ended the meeting and headed to the smithy with Octavia.